This is Scarey

This is what we have to worry about. The world wide pandemic flu might be around the corner.

LONDON – Chinese health officials have confirmed that a father caught bird flu from his son in December, according to a report released Tuesday.

Human-to-human transmission of bird flu has happened about a dozen times in the past,
in countries including Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia. In nearly every case, transmission has occurred among blood relatives who have been in close contact, and the virus has not spread into the wider community.

Wash Your Hands!!

We all have been told by parents, grandparents and teachers, since the day we were born, to wash our hands. Now mounting evidence suggests that that hand washing better prevents the flu and SARS compared to vaccines and other anti-viral therapies.

Physical barriers, such as regular handwashing and wearing masks, gloves and gowns, may be more effective than drugs to prevent the spread of respiratory viruses such as influenza and SARS, a study has found.

The findings, published in the British Medical Journal, came as Britain announced it was doubling its stockpile of antiviral medicines in preparation for any future flu pandemic.

Interestingly after reading about hand washing, I see that the FDA is recommending that Tamiflu carry stronger warning labels.  This is due to “psychiatric problems” observed in a hand full of people who have taken the drug.

The drug’s label already mentions reports of delirium and self-injury, primarily among children in Japan, but some experts suggested that the language should mention that several patients died as a result of those abnormal behaviors.

Children’s Flu Vaccination Day

Tuesday, November 27, the CDC is sponsoring Children’s Flu Vaccination Day. This is coinciding with National Influenza Vaccination Week.  Follow this link to find influenza activity across the United States for the week of November 11 through November 17, 2007.

The 2007-2008 influenza season is just beginning, and nationwide,
influenza activity is currently very low. So far, only two states are
reporting local influenza activity. In the United States, influenza
activity can begin as early as October and continues through May. Each
year, on average, from five to 20 percent of the U.S. population is
infected with influenza, with influenza estimated to result in 36,000
deaths and more than 200,000 hospitalizations from flu-related
complications in a typical year.

Avian flu in Egypt

This is directly from the WHO web site. I see nothing but panic and fear when this virus hits the shores of America.

The Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population has confirmed a new human case of avian influenza A(H5N1) virus infection. The case has been confirmed by the Egyptian Central Public Health Laboratory and by the WHO H5 Reference Laboratory, US Naval Medical Research Unit No.3 (NAMRU-3).

The case is a 4 years old female from Qena Governorate. She developed symptoms on 7 June and was admitted to hospital on 10 June. She is receiving treatment and is in a stable condition. Initial investigations into the source of her infection indicate exposure to dead birds.

Of the 36 cases confirmed to date in Egypt, 15 have been fatal.

Avian influenza

Several cases of avian influenza have occurred over the past few weeks around the world. Some how this is flying under the radar of major media. I will provide links to the World Health Organization Epidemic and Pandemic Alert and Response website.

In China a 19 year old male developed fever and pneumonia-like symptoms on May 9 and was hospitalized on May 14. The 19 year old was confirmed with H5N1 avian influenza virus on May 23.

On May 25, the United Kingdom Health Protection Agency announced that influenza A/H7N2 virus infection had been laboratory confirmed in four individuals exposed to infected poultry in Wales.

Indonesia has announced a new case of human infection of H5N1 avian influenza. A 45-year-old male developed symptoms on May 17, was hospitalized on May 26 and died in a hospital on May 28. Initial investigations into the source of his infection indicate exposure to dead poultry.

Of the 98 cases confirmed cases of avian influenze in Indonesia, 78 have been fatal.

From my understanding, to date there has been no human to human transition of H5N1 avian influenza. What organizations like the World health organization and the CDC are trying to prepare for is if/when the avian influenza begins transmission from person to person.

WHO Disease Outbreak News

Follow this link to a very nice chart of how many cases have occured in what country by year. It is scary to see that the total number of human cases is slowly creeping upwards.

Flu medications causing bizarre behavior?

So imagine this, the pandemic flu hits. We all rush out to get are anti-viral medications. We are saved from influenza, but we all start jumping off balconies or become psychotic. Is the cure worse then the disease??

Japan is looking into whether two influenza drugs other than Tamiflu are linked to abnormal behavior including cases of young patients screaming and one boy attempting to jump off a balcony, the Health Ministry said on Wednesday.